MGAfter War

GX-9900 Gundam X Unit 3

The same great MG frame, wearing the rarer paint job the base release never got.

MechaGrade Score

3.9/5

Gundam X Unit 3 · 1/100 · 2018

GradeMG

Scale1/100

Released2018

Runnersn/a

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The verdict

This is the excellent 2014 MG Gundam X engineering wearing a limited P-Bandai coat, and I think that's exactly why it's worth talking about.

The Unit 3 recolor gives you the light blue shoulder color-rings and the updated body tones in molded plastic instead of paint, which is the whole point of buying a variant release like this. Nothing about the frame or the gimmicks changed from the standard MG, so if you already know that kit is good, you already know this one is good. What changes is presentation, and for a Gundam X fan that's not a small thing.

Best for: returning Gundam X fans and P-Bandai completionists who already respect the 2014 MG frame and want the After War Next Prologue colorway without painting

The full review

What it is

The Gundam X Unit 3 takes the well regarded 2014 Master Grade Gundam X and reissues it in the updated body colors from the After War Gundam X Next Prologue story, where Garrod Ran's suit gets rebuilt with a more efficient generator and a visibly different shoulder color-ring. Bandai handled that update the right way, molding the light blue and body tone changes into the plastic rather than leaving them to stickers or paint. Underneath the new colors it is the same kit that made the original MG Gundam X a fan favorite, full inner frame, a real cockpit you can see Garrod seated in, and the Satellite Cannon backpack that unfolds into that huge dish. Building it feels familiar if you've had the base kit, and genuinely satisfying if you haven't.

The catch

This was a Premium Bandai limited release, which means the honest caveat is availability and price rather than build quality. It shows up on secondary market and reissue waves at a real premium over a standard retail MG, and if you already own the plain GX-9900 Gundam X, you are paying that premium mostly for color-ring plastic and decals rather than new engineering. The base MG frame also has its own quiet quirks, some builders note the waist and hip joints need care to stay tight over time, and the Satellite Cannon is a striking display piece but not something you pose with casually since it dominates the model's balance and footprint.

Who it's for

Buy this if you already love the Gundam X design and specifically want the Next Prologue colorway molded in, not painted on, or if you collect Gundam X variants and this is the one gap on your shelf. Skip it if you just want a good Gundam X and don't care which exact color-ring version you get, the standard retail MG GX-9900 gives you the same build experience for a normal MG price. It is also not the kit I'd hand someone building their first MG, the Satellite Cannon subassembly and part count reward someone who already has a few MGs under their belt.

The build story

What the build is actually like, and the engineering worth knowing about.

If you've built the standard MG Gundam X the assembly order here will feel identical, the changes are concentrated in the runners that carry the shoulder color-ring and body tone parts, which come pre-colored so there's no painting required to hit the Unit 3 look out of the box. Gate placement and nub cleanup are on par with a mid-2010s MG, manageable with a basic nipper and a bit of patience, nothing that trips up someone who has built a few kits before.

The standout engineering is still the inner frame and the cockpit reveal, which give the Gundam X real presence beyond just being a recolor. Articulation covers the poses this suit actually needs, the Satellite Cannon deploys and folds convincingly, and the transformable Shield Buster Rifle plus beam saber round out a loadout that feels complete for the price band once you factor in what a P-Bandai exclusive typically costs.

Lore & trivia

01The Gundam X Unit 3 depicted by this kit is a rebuilt version of the Gundam X Divider, restored using parts recovered from former research facilities and given a roughly 30 percent boost in generator efficiency in the After War Gundam X Next Prologue story bundled with the Blu-ray Memorial Box
02This designation is deliberately confusing in-universe, the Unit 3 name in Next Prologue is distinct from an earlier, separate Unit 3 built during the original 7th Space War that went missing
03The Gundam X's signature weapon, the Satellite Cannon, drew its power from a Super Microwave beam transmitted from a solar power station on the lunar surface, giving it colony-destroying output in the anime
04Garrod Ran, the Gundam X's main pilot, also flew alongside the GNR-0008C Gundam Nouvelle and Carris Nautilus in the Next Prologue story that introduced this Unit 3 colorway